Agent 2994 "Apollo" Diary
This diary belonged to one of the members of Task Force 51, the former HPA Agent 2994, who was recognized by the pseudonym "Apollo". While not as extensive as some other private journals, it is still of interest as an important document. Excerpt 1 We hit the rebels hard today. It was a combat insertion from a Pelican hovering about thirty feet from the ground into an urban environment that was absolutely teaming with hostiles. We rope-slid from the dropship while it covered out descent with its rocket pods, effectively destroying most of the more obvious heavy weapons emplacements. I let my team along our pre-assigned route and cut off the enemy's widest means of escape from our frontal force, which was led by Master Chief Artemis. While several smaller teams cut off the other escape routes, Artemis and her Myrmidons drove the enemy into our position and we managed to eliminate all hostile forces in the area. Logs from several Hornets that formed a perimeter around the incident zone indicate no rebel survivors. Total enemy dead: 452 Excerpt 2 No missions today. I was bored out of my mind, and so I used some of my old access codes to run a search of the UNSC database. Reread the G294 file again, that always seems to make for an interesting read. One thing I came across seemed chock full of odd references. This Alice in Wonderland... another silly name for a rather serious sounding matter. Must look into this further. Excerpt 3 This Alice in Wonderland is really bugging me now. One subject in particular has caught my especial interest: this Pandora's Box. It seems like some sort of object, unlike the other things which seem to be events or scenarios. Most everything around it is heavily encrypted even for my access level. From what I have been able to piece together, whatever this object is seems tied to a certain "Ragnarok" plan or idea. Whatever it is, it certainly seems bad. According to some of these files, an individual granted "Delta X-Ray Nine" status will be the one to whom the box is given. Hell, this stuff is way to encrypted for my skills. I'm now so interested in this that I feel like bringing in a professional... I wonder if 2042 is still around? Correspondence The following excerpts are transcripts from a series of messages sent between Agent 2994 and another party. Copies of them were found pressed into the pages of the diary in the order that they were posted in. To: Agent 2042 From: Apollo (You might remember me as Agent 2994) Subject: A favor, willing to pay money for it. Hello 2042, I'm glad to find out that you're still alive. I'm pretty sure you remember me, Agent 2994. The name now is Apollo, Artemis suggested it and she was a little insistent (you remember Artemis don't you?). Anyway, when I heard that you weren't with the rest of us when we started training the Myrmidons, I figured you were dead. Well now I've got something very interesting in the UNSC's secure files and my clearance level isn't enough to grant me access to all of them. I found out about you by reading a few Terran news reports; it seems that you're some kind of PI now and that you have quiet a string of successful investigations under your belt. It's not the career I would have imagined for one of us HPA veterans, but you seem to do a pretty good job at it. More to the point, you always were the best encryption breaker in the program and I was wondering if you might want to check this out. If you aren't as interested as I am in in this stuff (I'll forward you what I was able to access) I do have a pretty healthy bank account and am willing to hire you for this job if that's what it'll take. Please respond soon, I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Agent 2994 "Apollo" To: Agent 2994, Apollo, or whatever the hell you're calling yourself these days From: Agent 2042 Subject: RE: A favor, willing to pay money for it. I see that you're still hanging around as well, 2994. You know, it was you that inspired me to get out of the program and start working for myself. Kind of funny to hear that you're back in the loop now, did you get tired of not having 2995's shadow to stand in? I'm not so much a PI now as a bounty hunter, mercenary, or any kind of job suited to our special talents. Didn't you go into engineering or something after you left? Maybe that's the reason you went back. I've discovered very early on that people like us aren't suited for careers as shopkeepers or librarians. We just don't have the tolerance for things like that. So yes, I have been making a life for myself away from ONI's clutches. It's apparent that you're still abusing you're clearance level again. The things you forwarded to me are very interesting, interesting enough to warrant a 50% percent discount for my services (I'll be forwarding you details about employing me). If you can give me your clearance codes, I can sift through the UNSC's files like no one's business. Once you get past the outer defenses the rest of the job is child's play. I'll be sure to forward you my findings (and opinion on them) as soon as I can. Try not to get killed before then, I hate not getting paid. Agent 2042 To: Agent 2042 From: Apollo Subject: I suppose I should say thank you... I read your little business portfolio, and I'm shocked by your normal price. Do people really pay you that much money to work for them, or do they always try to haggle with you? Even with only half the price, this will seriously cut into my life savings. I guess I owe you one for dropping the price, but still... don't you have any feelings of generosity for a fellow agent? For this price I'm definitely only going to pay you once the jobs finished completely. Anyway, I'm forwarding you my clearance codes. You are to erase and forget them the second they're no longer useful for the purposes of this job, and if I find out you're using them for anything else or have sold them to anyone else I will come after you as soon as I get some leave time. So you just have to get into the UNSC database and get everything you can about Alice in Wonderland. I'll be expecting regular updates and I'd better get them given the amount I'll be paying you. Sincerely, Apollo To: Agent 2994 From: Agent 2042 Subject: One "regular update" coming right up I charge a lot because I'm the best in what I do. End of story. There aren't too many mercs like me around these days who are willing to stretch the boundaries of the law. I've always felt that a little crime is good for any society, but the UNSC can be such a damn police state these days no one else seems to share that sentiment anymore. So most people who want me to work for them are both rich enough to be somewhat safe from the law and to afford me. Anyway, the codes you gave me got me into the UNSC's system no sweat, but I'm having a lot of trouble getting anything concrete about this Alice in Wonderland business. It's like they've got an eternity code protecting this thing, or possible multiple AIs dedicated to generating new eternity codes for the system every day. What I have been able to gather is part hard facts and part speculation on the part of my own. For a start, something called the Arcturus Committee has just sprung out of nowhere and it's heavily linked to AiW. I can't get anything else on it, be it a member list or a meeting record. Next, it seems that ONI has pulled some kind of submarine, the UNSC Atlantis off the charts. I can't imagine what they need to look for that's underwater, but then again it is ONI we're talking about here. Before I go any further, I need to tell you something that pertains to this investigation but has come up before. In recent years the UNSC has been almost as crazy as the Covenant were about finding Forerunner relics. A lot of money has gone into research in this subject and it seems that one Beyond Veil's Azure has been assigned to search for more Halo installations. That alone is enough to make me uncomfortable. Two items are of particular interest to me: one "Pandora's Box" and something called a "Ragnarok Circumstance" they seem to be related somehow and the Box at least seems to refer to an object that ONI has. I haven't uncovered further details on it, but a lot of the references I'm finding are bad, real bad. I think this box is some Forerunner thing ONI has got, maybe some kind of master Index or something. If this info starts getting any more ominous I might have to halt this investigation for you and launch one of my own. If the UNSC is screwing with Forerunner WMDs someone has to try and at least make it public. Agent 2042 This final message seems to have been unfolded and read several times: To: Agent 2994 From: Agent 2042 Subject: I may not be collecting my fee after all Don't try to message me or contact me in any way after reading this message. I won't be able to dig any further for some time now. As I was creeping through the UNSC's files, I managed to stumble across this: Alice in Wonderland TOP SECRET PATRIOT UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence UNSC Department of Strategic Intelligence Running Title: Alice in Wonderland Summary Report, 17 MAR 2954 A Memorandum from the UNSC Naval Intelligence Office of Special Investigation to the Arcturus Committee and the Vector Thirteen DO NOT DISTRIBUTE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE COUNT YOUR PAGES COUNT YOUR PAGES COUNT YOUR PAGES COUNT YOUR PAGES You are on Page 1 of 1. Count your pages. Report any missing pages immediately to NIOSI. THIS IS THE DAILY TACTICAL MEMORANDUM FROM THE UNSC NAVAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE UNSC DEFENSE FORCE WITH DELTA X-RAY FIVE STATUS, INCLUDING BUT NO LIMITED TO MEMBERS OF THE ARCTURUS COMMITTEE AND VECTOR THIRTEEN. YOU ARE ON THE DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR THIS DOCUMENT BECAUSE OF YOUR DELTA X-RAY FIVE STATUS. It is the conclusion of the UNSC Naval Intelligence Office of Special Investigation that as of March 17, 2954 that Alice in Wonderland is reaching the end of its useful operational capacity. Galactic peace is on the verge of disintegration. Strategic long-range predictions by Blue Chip indicate with a 0.999993 probability, within ONE MONTH OF RECEIVING THIS REPORT, ONE OR MORE EVENTS OF APOCALYPTIC SCALE WILL OCCUR with non-UNSC and non-Covenant origin. Integrity calculations of Blue Chip indicate that its reality-recursive hardware and wetware has not been compromised. High-order probability calculations support Blue Chip's initial calculations. Apocalypse is inevitable. It is without doubt that within one month, the RAGNAROK CIRCUMSTANCE will be triggered. Immediate action must be taken to find alternative solutions. Subproject 77 and MH ULTRA still remain as last-resort options. We must endeavor with all due speed to find alternative solutions, with the weight of mankind resting on us. Pandora's Box, as previously agreed, has been relocated to Midgard under the safekeeping of censored. A substantial UNSC Special Operations Command battle group, code-named TASK FORCE 51, has been stationed on Midgard. The security of Pandora's Box rests upon censored and Task Force 51. We have no other choice; there is no other UNSC military force that can be trusted more than Task Force 51 to ensure the temporary safety of Pandora's Box. We report that the [[UNSC Ether A Go Go|UNSC Ether A Go Go]] has been detached from UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence reconnaissance duties, and that the Ether A Go Go is standing by above Midgard to take the citizen with DELTA X-RAY NINE status to Atlantis (read: Security Zone 77). With mankind prepared to collapse, we have no other choice to ensure that the bearer of Pandora's Box has immediate access to Atlantis. While Subproject 77 and MH ULTRA are last-resort options, Alice in Wonderland is prepared to take any option that will avert mankind's inevitable fate, no matter the cost. Counterintelligence sweeps have located one system security breach: this is believed to be an offensive information operations (IO) intrusion by Agent 2042, a former PROGWARDIV/HPA operator. With the instigator(s) of the RAGNAROK CIRCUMSTANCE currently unknown, we will not take any chances. A sizable UNSCSOCOM task force with over one thousand direct-action operators has been sent to apprehend or neutralize 2042. We have been entrusted with mankind's last defense. It is a task that we will not fail until the very end. If we have one hope, it is this. Our ability to trigger mutual assured destruction is still active. We still have Directive 0-9 and Pandora's Box. If we die, we can at least ensure that our mysterious foe dies with us as well. Signed, UNSC Naval Intelligence Office of Special Investigation Alice in Wonderland, UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence As you can see, I'm in trouble. I have to drop off the radar if I have any hope of staying alive. I may not have my MJOLNIR anymore, but I do have my own little mercenary gear and my training to help me, so if they do find me I'll at least take plenty of 'em with me. The situation looks worse than ever. This Box is definitely the key to something very bad, and it's in the possession of someone with you on Midgard. I know plenty of people who owe me favors, and they might be able to slip me past the UNSC's commandos. I haven't made much of my life up to this point, but I won't stand by while a select few give themselves the power this message seems to be talking about. I'm coming to Midgard to find the Box and figure out what it is. I know that what I'm asking for is treason, but please don't tell them what I've just told you. I've erased your codes and cut off all ties to you, so there's nothing I can blackmail you with. I'm simply asking you to do me a favor. The decision is yours, 2994. If you come across me while I try to do what I believe must be done, I expect you'll do your duty. But just this once don't be an automaton, a pawn of others. Goodbye, Apollo.